Mechanical Properties of Activated Carbon (AC) Coconut Shell Reinforced Polypropylene Composites Encapsulated with Epoxy Resin

Abstract

This research is to develop the natural Activated Carbon (AC) composites prepared from carbon coconut shell reinforced with polypropylene (PP). Carbon coconut shell were selected from in-productive of coconut shell specifically namely as carbon Komeng coconut shell (CKCS) with different weight percentages of AC (6, 4 and 2wt%) and PP (4, 6 and 8wt%) contents. The specimens were then encapsulated with epoxy resin. The entire specimens were prepared using SRM (Silicon Rubber Moulds) with dumbbell shape and rectangular shape according to the standard ASTM D2099 and ASTM D256 respectively. The mechanical properties of all samples were investigated to characterize the quality of the samples. The morphological studies of reinforced samples were observed by using SEM machine. The results showed that the tensile stress was increased when AC is increased specifically for sample 4 wt% and 8 wt%. Maximum tensile stresses lead by sample 4 wt% with 30MPa.